1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a body arrangement for protecting at least one safety-relevant part in the automotive field, such as high-voltage batteries, tanks or pressure vessels. The at least one safety-relevant part is arranged in a supporting structure that has bumpers arranged in the longitudinal direction. The protective arrangement is between the safety-relevant part and the closest bumper. The protective arrangement has at least one protective element that is arched in the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle toward the outside of the motor vehicle. The protective element is mounted directly or indirectly on the supporting structure via bearings.
2. Description of the Related Art
EP 2 353 971 describes a body arrangement of a motor vehicle with longitudinal beams and a protective arrangement. The protective arrangement includes a protective element that is between a bumper and an energy store. The protective element is arched toward a bumper of the motor vehicle and is fixed in the longitudinal and transverse directions of the motor vehicle. The protective arrangement can be folded up about a defined tilting axis in the event of a collision, and in this way absorbs a major part of the energy imparted by the collision. The protective arrangement finally comes to bear against the top side of the energy store. This protective arrangement functions only if a collision acts centrally and is oriented in the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle to ensure the folding-up process occurs about the predefined axis in the desired manner. A laterally offset collision or a collision that does not take place in the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle will inevitably lead to an undefined folding process, and these latter types of collisions occur more commonly in reality than a straight, centrally oriented collision.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a body arrangement that protects safety-relevant parts in the most commonly occurring collision situations.